We’re only weeks away from 2012, but we’re already looking forward to some exciting stuff scheduled to land further in the future. The new year definitely has cool plans in store for commercial flights, but 2013 is when Norwegian Air Shuttle plans to link the United States with Scandinavia—on the cheap.

There was some news kicking around about the airline’s plans for low-cost, long-haul routes, and it sounds like things are still moving full speed ahead. Best of all it sounds as though NAS will utilize Boeing 787s on the new routes, so this might be one of the cheapest ways to experience the Dreamliner in all its glory. Even if Norwegian Air Shuttle goes no-frills, some of the 787's standard features should still shine through. Just so you know, right now they’ve got like six of the brand new birds on order. ]]> kjb 2011-12-21T08:13:35-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/8/12/15302/5510

And now a personal dispatch from uncharted waters...those of a virgin cruiser...

As I mentioned on Wednesday, my trip to Norway on Cunard was my first ever cruise. I was ignorant enough to think that a cruise was a good place to go to escape alcohol. What's more is that I was tagging along with a seasoned cruiser and there was obviously a lot I had yet to learn.

Here’s what stood out as the good, the bad and the ugly to a first-timer: ]]> juliab 2011-08-12T16:21:22-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/8/10/14957/5467

And now a first-person dispatch from a special Jaunted contributor (and first-time cruiser):

Not only was my Norwegian cruise last month the first cruise I’d ever been on, it was also the first trip I’d done since I stopped drinking a couple of months ago. Awesome, I thought as I stuffed my suitcase—a week cut off (literally) from the temptation of bars and clubs. This will be the perfect bridge between America, land of every-other-person-is-in-AA (where I’d traveled from), and England, land of if-you-don’t-get-hammered-on-a-Monday-night-you’ll-be-deported (where I was going to).

But the cruise wasn’t quite as expected, mainly because there was booze at every turn (duh). Thwarted! Luckily, I battled through and emerged from the Queen Victoria unscathed. Want to do the same? These are some ploys to staying sober that worked for me: ]]> juliab 2011-08-10T15:20:02-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/8/8/143927/0305
Norwegian postcards: a victory for sexual equality

Postcards: we may be too digitally-inclined and the postal services may be too expensive to mail them anymore, but we still buy them in droves. And while we loved the beautiful images of fjords and cutesy clapboard houses that we found during a Norwegian cruise on Cunard's Queen Victoria last month, the postcards that most captivated us displayed a very different type of Norwegian assets.

Yes, in Fjordcountry—Flåm and Geiranger, to be precise—along with the pretty landscape pictures were a shedload of pictures of naked men in picturesque places. Enjoying the view, showering under a gushing waterfall, strumming a guitar in a flower-filled meadow, skiing...all in various states of undress from shorts to full frontal nudity. ]]> juliab 2011-08-08T16:05:04-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/7/28/203028/815

When we travel, one of our favorite things to do is to pop into a local grocery store and check out the food products and candies we'd never find anywhere else. So we're trying out this new feature, Foreign Grocery Friday, where each week we'll feature some of our (and your) favorite overseas treats. Got a recommendation? Let us know!

Where do we even start in pronouncing "Kvikk Lunsj," the popular Norwegian chocolate treat, let alone describe its taste? Well, once you know it translates to "Quick Lunch," the consonant-rich words don't seem as intimidating. In looks and flavor, Kvikk Lunsj's closest cousin is the KitKat Bar, and indeed KitKats beat the launch of Kvikk Lunsj by two years, having debuted in 1935.

Still, Kvikk Lunsj has the sporty image KitKat never will; Norwegians associate its bright packaging with outdoorsy activities, and the commercials and motto—"Tursjokoladen," trekking chocolate—support it. Each bar even features the portrait of a famous Norge outdoorsman. We got Kjell "Stakan" Staxrud, who, judging from an itty-bitty illustration, looks to be a cross-country skiier. ]]> JetSetCD 2011-07-29T09:01:11-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/7/21/143816/300

New York, Berlin, Paris, Rio de Janeiro...Stavanger? it's true; Norway's second city is a hot spot for international street art, and it's something we never would have guessed until we stepped off Cunard's Queen Victoria and into the center of the city, with walls sporting Shepard Fairey and Banksy.

Stavanger seems a sleepy town, but first impressions are usually deceiving as we know all too well. It took about 10 minutes of meandering the (literally) vibrant streets before we found a store called "SHIT" and a bohemian coffeeshop packed with locals keen to tell us where to find free WiFi and where to walk to see the best graffiti. ]]> JetSetCD 2011-07-21T16:45:18-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/7/14/174821/895

It's a beautiful day in Norway's second-largest city of Bergen, and a stroll down cobblestone lanes seems like a great idea. There's the fish market, and street vendors selling reindeer pelts and long, knit winter hats. And then—making itself at home in a historic building on a corner—you're faced with the dreaded Golden Arches.

Yep, McDonalds has invaded the fresh northern air with its smell of french fries and...hot wings? As usual with foreign McD's, the menu varies:]]> JetSetCD 2011-07-14T18:36:59-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/